Integrated barge tow and barges for use as component vessels thereof



Jan- 12, 1954 B. WILLIAMSON v INTEGRATED BARGE TOW AND BARGES F OR usa` As COMPONENT vfsssELs THEREOF 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 22, 1951 Jan. 12, 1954 Filed June 22, 1951 B. WILLIAMSON INTEGRATED BARGE Tow AND BARcEs Foa USE AS COMPONENT VESSELS THEREOF 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 50766' W/L//i/mso/v BY' gmmwffnza Jan. 12, 1954 LLIAMsoN 2,665,656

B.VV| INTEGRATED BARGE TOW AND BARGES FOR USE AS COMPONENT VESSELS THEREOF Filed June 22, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 12, 1954 B. WILLIAMSON INTEGRATED BARGE TOW AND BAR 2,665,656 GES FOR USE As COMPONENT vEssELs THEREOF 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 22 1951 E Jan. 12, 1954 Filed June 22, 1951 B. WILLIAMSON INTEGRATED BARGE TOW AND BARGES FOR USE AS COMPONENT VESSELS THEREOF 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VEN TOR. 50)/65 WML/A0450 Patented Jan. 12, 1954 UNITED r`STATES "PATENT OFFICE VINTEGRATEDBARGE TIOW AND BARGES FOR USE AS COMPONENT VESSELS THEREOF Boyce Williamson, "Birmingham, Ala.,` assigner to 'The Ingalls'Shipbuilding Corporation, a corporation ofxDelaware Application June 22, 1951,v Serial Nol 232,992

. 8- Claims. 1

My-'invention` relates *to =an `integrated tow ficiency isA increasedover integrated tows constituted of bargesv as heretofore vrdesigned.

In my prior Patent-No.-'2`,546,353,' dated March v27, 1951, Ishow, describe'and claim anlimproved bow` construction for 'barges and the `like in which the rake bilgeplates thereof comprise plate sections warped 'from' theI bow Iof the barge-to a point adjacent the aft'end of the rake. To date a number of barges have `been built inaccordancewith 'theabovei patent and the towing emciency, ease of construction andsuit'ability of the invention yhave been Afully proven in "practice. The present invention relatesto an integrated tow of 'barges embodying in part the invention disclosed in'saidpatent. Whentwo barges embodying the improved bowconstruction disclosed in said fpatent'are placed side by side and moved along "it is' found that a'considerable improvement' in 'towing efliciencyresuits. However, `for use 'on inland Waterways such as rivers it was found that noating logs and other debris tended to collect between the barges at the bows thereof, thus decreasing towingi'efciency.

In seeking to overcomeV the above mentioned tendency of debris to gather at the inboard corners of the bows, .Ifhave conceivedthatfor integrated tows the lead barges `shoi1ldhave the above mentioned improved bow bilgeplate construction on the outboard cornersv and standard, square shaped bilge construction on the inboard corners. 1n this manner andv as has beenproven by' tests with scale modelsjthe' towing efliciency remains high while the tendency tog-ather debris is practically eliminated. As a further aid in increasing towing .eiiicierlcy' have found `it .desir-able to pull in theoutboard corners of Vthe `lead barge. vThat is to say, the plates forming 'the bilges of the outboard corners areinwardly directed. This construction, therefore,` results in a bargehaving one square bow corner andthe other is partially vpointed. A further result-of this construction .is that kwhensuch ybarges are placed side 4by side the composite :bow of the tow rissomewhat pointed. lThe stems of the trailing lbarges preferably areI provided witl'rl the improvedrake bilge plate construction shown in the fabovevrpatent-and `the-same areA directed inwardly. :To aiford'more surfaceagainstvvhich thetugizmayipusn .thev tow,r .I prefer? -to fextend the transoms of the 'trailing barges the full width of the barges and-deck over the space which resultsfrom pulling 'in the Sterns.

'In View of all the' foregoing it is another obfectofmy invention to provide barges adapted to be ydi'sposedside by side for towing in which the outboard rake bilge plates thereof embody a plate section warped' from apointadjacent the aft end of the rake forward, thereby providing bilge plates in which there are plane surfaces emanatingfromva common point adjacent the outboard corner of thebarge, on which lines are laid stiffeners for the plates.

-`Another object isI to provide outboard rake bilge construction for the'bows of the lead barges of side byv side=integrated tows in which the plates forming the same converge inwardly toward the longitudinal center line of therbarge, providing Aa partiallyfpcintedbow effective to increase towing efficiency and to construct the inboard bows of said barges in more or less conventional manner; that is of` upwardly curving rake plates providing inboard bows substantially square as viewed in plan. When vthe inboard corners of two `such barges are brought together they present asurface which is not apt to gather debris as vthe barges move along.

A furtherv and more general object of my invention is to provide barges of the character indicated'which shall be economical of construction and in which thel decked over portion of the sternvof the trailing barges are effective to provide a substantially continuous deck surface between the barges, eliminating the likelihood of workmen falling through and into theV path of the' tug boat.

`Barges illustrating 'the features of my invention are shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis' application in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a six barge, integrated tow; "Fig.'2 is anienla'rged front elevational view `of the`lead barges thereof taken in the direction of line II-"II ofV Fig. 1;

Fig. 3' is an enlarged ster-n view of the trailing barges ilookingin the' direction of arrows III- III of Fig.A 1; y

"Figjis ran enlarged lfragmentalvside elevational view of vthe composite tow shown in Fig.` 1; Fig. VEllis an elevational view of the inboard bowof the starboard'lead barge shown in Fig.' 1; Fig: 6 is a detail lsectional view taken generally along line-VIQ-Vfof Fig. 5;

LIiig.v 'Tis a -ragmental perspective view looking at a corner of the stern of a trailing barga'the View being taken from somewhat underneath the corner of the stern;

8 is a fraginental plan view of one of the corners of a trailing barge;

9 to 16, inclusive, are detail sectional views taken generally along the respective section lines indicated on Fig. 8;

Fig. 17 is an enlarged fragmental plan view of a corner of a trailing barge, the View being taken generally along a line such as XVII-XVII of Fig. 12; and,

Fig. 18 is a developed plan view of one of the improved rake bilge and side plates, the dot-dash lines laid thereon indicating the center lines for the stiffeners.

Referring now to the drawings for a better understanding of my invention I show in Fig. l an integrated tow formed of six barges placed two abreast and in tandem. The lead barges A and B are provided with outboard rake bilge constructions of the improved type to be described herein. The inboard rake bilge constructions of the bows of barges A and B may, as will later appear, be of any desired construction but preferably are such as to afford a hull section which is substantially square as viewed in plan.

The intermediate barge sections C and D may be rectangular, box-like barges disposed to lit with their bows against the square Sterns of barges A and B.

Barges E and F are the trailing barges and are provided with bows matching the Sterns of the barges C and D. As best illustrated in Fig. 4 the sterns of barges A and B may be rectangular in elevation, matching the bows of barges C and D. Correspondingly, the .Sterns of barges C and D may be square in plan and elevation, to match the similarly shaped bows of barges E and F. The sterns of barges E and F are such that the hull sides are pulled inwardly, providing somewhat sharpened bow sections.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 3 and 7 of the drawing it will be seen that the stern sections of the barges E and F are identical. Further the inboard and outboard stern sections are identically formed. Therefore, the description of one corner of one stern section will suffice for all. For the sake of simplicity of description, the sterns of barges E and F will be described as if they were the bows thereof. Thus, when I refer to the aft end of plate Il, for instance, I mean that end of the same nearest the mid-ships section of the barge and the term forward end is used to mean that end nearest the transom. The side plating of the barge E, indicated by the numeral lll, is arranged to provide with the bottom plating l! a, barge having a substantially rectangular mid-ships section. If desired the mid-section may be provided with a continuously extending bilge knuckle plate I2.

The mid-section end of the inboard and outboard sterns comprises upwardly sloping plating I3 and I4 which may slope athwart-ships along the mid-ships line to be joined at I6, providing a somewhat V-shape bottom for the barge including stern sections. The stern of the hull is pulled inwardly by the provision of a plate section IT. The plate I l embodies a fiat section Ila sloping inwardly at an angle of approximately 45 to the horizontal. The aft end lla of plate section I'I is joined along the line I8 to the main body side plating Ill. At the forward end the section llc of plate il' is joined along the line I9 to a section of the transom 2U. The forward end of plates I3 and i4 are joined to the transom. Z0 along the line 2 l The remaining forward portion of the stern plate section Il is completed by the provision of a warped plate section 22. This section is in the shape generally described in the above mentioned patent. As stated in said patent the section 22 is warped from its aft end to its forward end where it joins along the line 24 to the tran som 20. The upper chine line of the plate section 22 is dened by the bend line 25, where it joins the lower edge of the forward portion lla of plate I'I. The lower chine line of plate section 22 is joined along the line 2'! to a bilge knuckle plate 28, forming in effect a continuation of the knuckle plate i2. The knuckle plate 28 may taper from the end adjacent the end of knuckle plate l2 toward the transom 20 as illustrated in Fig. 7.

As best shown in Figs. 9 through 18, inclusive, the plate section 22 forming the rake bilges is so warped as to provide coplanar surfaces along the length thereof. These surfaces are indicated by the dot-dash lines 29 laid on Fig, 18, which represents the approximate centers for stiffeners 3| to be laid along said lines, as illustrated in Figs. 9 to 17, inclusive. As clearly shown in Fig. 18 the lines 29 emanate from a theoretical point P adjacent the corner of the stern. Thus, the stiffeners 3| may be laid on the plate 22 without the necessity of forming or bending them. In like manner I lay on the plate section ila similar' stiffeners 3l, these being laid on along line 29a which preferably also emanate from the point P.

Referring especially to the developed view Fig. 18, it will be seen that alone its lower chine line the plate section Il is straight up to the point 32. From the point 32 to the forward end 24 the lower chine line 2l is slightly curved. The upper chine line of the plate Il is straight for the greater part of its length from the end 24 to the point 33. From the point 33 the plate il tapers back to the aft end thereof.

As shown, when in place on a barge, adjacent its forward end plate l? slopes downwardly at approximately a 45 angle to the horizontal and thence the portion 22 thereof joins along the curved lower chine line 2".' to the knuckle plate 28. Adjacent the aft end of section lla of plate Il, as exemplified in Figs. l2 to 16, the plate is substantially flat. The degree of curvature of the section 22 of plate l1 intermediate the forward and aft ends thereof will be readily seen from an inspection of the intermediate sectional views, Figs. 9 to 12, inclusive. It will be apparent from the drawings that the end 32 of plate section 22 lies at an angle to the horizontal. The end joining the transom along line 24 lies generally at less angle to the horizontal than does end 32. This relationship comes about due to warping of the section 22 as fully described in my prior Patent No. 2,546,353.

As shown in Fig. '17 some of the stiffeners 3l run substantially the full length of the plate Il while others thereof are intermittent, being joined edgewise by cross bracing 34a. These may well be watertight bulkheads, but for the sake of clarity, the plating for the bulkheads is omitted.

It will be noted that by pulling in or inwardly directing the sides of the sterns of the barges E and F if the decks thereof followed the contour of the hull as viewed in plan there would be an opening at the stern through which operators and workmen on the barges could fall or through which equipment could be dropped. Further, when towing the barges they usually are pushed by means of a tug T and if the space '..at' y@the inboardi Y corners.. of the r :stern twere :not .:closedlprovision would :hai/ctov becmade .for re- `cen/ing'- ther-1 knees 34 iof .ithev tug. r In order! 4to f eliminate :thisidiniculty:Iv so construct .the stern :corners-of; the ".decksof the trailing barges .that ,theysoverhang .fthe resultant space Vjustamen- 1' ltioned; and 1 close thefsame .Asshown .ir1f;l'|.ig.` '7

I extend the deck over the corners by .means of .the .hull-as viewed in'plan. is shownplearly in Figs. 1 and 3, I prefer t-o car-ry` out the in-. iboai-d. rconstruction for the ,sterns y of .the trailing .-bargesfon the outboard: stern corners thereof in lorder toprovide more deck surface.

.1 Referringy `now particularly to Figs. l, 2, 5 and :.6,.itwill.be seen that the Vvbows of thebargesA vand-:B embody at their outboard cornerssubstantially the-identicalafiat and Iwarped-plate construction already described. The only'fdi-fl ference between the-rake bilge plates of the outyboardx corners of .the barges Aand B andthe f cornersbf. the .Sterns of the barges Ev and F is 4,that the rake bilge plates il' and sections 22 .thereof -for the outboard corners of lthe lead barges are longerthan the plates Il for the `rear barges.

hulls shown in the present application. embody rake bilge plates ITG-'which are directed inwardly, thus to provide a somewhat pointed bow. The-sectionsZZnareLwarped `so as to provide coplanar .surfaces .emanating .from cornmonl e points adjacent the corners of' the barge in the same'manner illustrated lfor the barges E and l F vand asalready explained. -It will lbexunderstood '-that-stiffeners, notshowrL similar to the stirfenersl,v are-laid on the rake bilgel plates I il. 1 platefl' along the lower 4chine lines thereof.

Theiplates llware joined to a bilge1 knuckle Theupperchine lines-of the sections 22--.are dened.asalready-explained;by the bend lines26.

The remainder of the plate sections Il is plane and is disposed at an angle to the horizontal of approximately The midsection bottom plating i3 is joined to the knuckle plate 28 as illustrated at the outboard corners of the leading barges. The forward end of sections 22 and the forward ends of bottom plates I 3 and I4 are joined to headlog plates 25 as shown in Fig. 2.

The inboard corners of the lead barges as indicated in Figs. 2 and 6 are substantially square as viewed in front elevation and in plan. Thus, the side plating 139 for the inboard corners is substantially vertical and in alignment with the mid-ships side plates |41' while the bottom plating i4 is curved upwardly. The bottom plates Hi are joined along the center line I6 to the bottom plates I3', and may be disposed at an angle to form a V-bottom barge.

When barges constructed in accordance with my invention are integrated for towing as shown In otherytords, plates i1 and the' warped sections 22 thereof for the outboard cornersof:tlfieflcarges A .and-Bare alsov formed substantially yidentically as described in my above. mentioned Patent.l\lo.l2,546,353. v.Thecnly exception .in this connectionis that .the barge.

:.:in/Figl. 1,.,the tug 'Ifis 'placed with .the knees'34 n `thereof;abuttingff:the :transoms 20 "of thetrailing `lbarges. .'Due `1to..the Aoverhanging corner Adeck -andtran'som sections :it will beapparent that sithekn'eesx restsinwpart against the portions of :the transom projecting .inwardly of the hull ".linesVLthus eto; transmitthe propelling thrust to 51 the barges. vIn testson models I have found that ..pullingi'inwthe outboard corners of the lead -bargesand :pulling lin the inboard and outboard corners of both ofthe trailing bargesy gives a l'considera-ble. increase in towing eiliciency. Fur- .,thermoie, I 'havev found that .the barges A and 12B mayfin. an.. emergency, be used separately Vsince apparently. Lthendi'fference in the port and starboard bow constructions thereof does not too adversely aiect the towing characteristics lthereof when used separately. I have found in ntion of the barges Aand B eliminates the tend- Y ency-of the. barges to gather floating logs, sticks M.andthe like, eliminating the necessity of having provided for` lreceiving the stiifeners. i0`

to. cleanY out between the barges at frequent intervals.

.'Ihe-.warpingV of the plates in the manner illustrated affords a simple means for construct- 'ingbarge `bows .and Sterns. The construction herein .described entirely eliminates the necesisity Lof .a mold loft and the resultant bow or .stern construction compares very favorably in towing'characteristics with a spoon bow. which :can beformed only in a mold loft. By warping the sections 22;and.22 of the plates il and Il asdescribed I'arn enabled to lay on the stitleners .3l without any forming whatever since the coplanar surfaces indicated by the lines 2S are This results .in va considerable saving in construction cost.

-Itrwill be-.apparent that while I vhave described ythepplate .-sections22 and 22 as being plate sectionsA .thefsamemay be formed of a piurality of plates:welded Vedgewise together in orderfto yprovideLafplatefsection large enough to form the .rake .fbiige of the bow or stern. Also, while I ihave .describedthe outboard corners of the barges AAfand-"B'..lasvbeing, made in. accordance .with my above mentioned patent and the sterns ofthe `barges-I.' and Fas being likewise made, it will be .apparent .that a spoon bow .or any form of bow intwhich the-sideszare brought in and shaped to -ximprovetowing eiiiciency maybe used in combination with the substantially rectangular inboard bow corner sections of the barges A and B. Aside from the increase in towing eiiiciency produced by bringing in the sides of the bows of the barges A and B, the turned in bow sections facilitate the entry of the barges into locks or the like since the pulled in sides offer a tapering bow section.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and. I desire therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an integrated tow embodying at least four barges each having a substantially rectangular mid-ships section formed of side and bottom plates and disposed two abreast and in tandem, inboard bow corners for the lead barges comprising upwardly sloping bottom plates, substantially vertical inboard bow side plates joining the upwardly sloping bottom plates and disposed substantially parallel to the side plates of the mid-ships section, outboard bow corners for the lead barges comprising upwardly sloping bot tom plates, inwardly directed bow side plates joined along their aft ends to the outboard side plates of the mid-ships section and adjacent their lower edges of the adjacent bottom bow plates, stems for each trailing barge embodying upwardly directed stern bottom plates, and inwardly directed stern side plates joined to the adjacent side plates of the mid-ships section and to the stern bottom plates.

2. A barge tow as defined in claim 1 in which the trailing barges are provided with transoms and decks, and lateral extensions of the decks at the rear corners cf the trailing barges overlying the inwardly directed stern side plates.

3. A barge tow as defined in claim 1 in which the trailing barges are provided with transoms and decks, and lateral extensions of the transoms and decks extending over the inwardly directed sterns whereby the stern decks are substantially the width of the decks of the mid-ships section of the trailing barges.

4. In an integrated barge tow embodying at least two barges in side by side relation, the improvements comprising outboard bow corner bilge construction for the barges embodying bilge plate sections warped from the aft ends thereof forwardly, the aft ends of said plates lying at an angle to the horizontal and the forward ends thereof being inclined to the horizontal less than said aft ends, and inboard bow bilge construction for the barges embodying upwardly sloping bote tom plating and substantially vertical side plating, thereby providing substantially square nboard bow corners for the barges.

5. In an integrated barge tow embodying at least two barges in side by side relation, the improvements comprising bow construction having a rake, rake bilge plates for the outboard bow bilges of each barge each comprising a plate warped from its aft end toward the forward end, said aft end lying at an angle to the horizontal and the forward end being inclined to the horizontal less than the aft end, headlog plates to which the forward end of the bilge plate is connected, means connecting the bilge plate along the upper and lower chine lines thereof to bow side and bottom plates, respectively, inboard bow construction for each barge embodying upwardly sloping bottom plates equaling in width substantially the Width of the mid-ships section of the barge, and substantially vertical inboard bow side plates joined to the adjacent bottom plates and forming therewith inboard bow corners for each barge which are substantially square as viewed in plan.

6. In barges adapted for towing in side by side relation, bow construction for each barge coniprising inwardly directed outboard rake bilge plates, inboard rake bilge plates substantially aligned with the side plates of the mid-ships section of the barge, upwardly sloping inboard and outboard rake bottom plates connected to the inboard and outboard rake bilge Plates, headlog plates to which the forward end of the outboard bilge plates are connected, and means connecting the inboard bottom plates of the bow to the headlog plate.

7. In a barge, a substantially rectangular midships section formed of connected side and bottom plates, inwardly directed side plates for one corner of the bow, an inwardly directed bow rake bilge plate at said corner of the bow, bow side plates at the other corner of the bow forming a substantially straight continuation of the midships section side plating, bottom plates for the bow, means connecting the inwardly directed bilge plate along its lower chine line to the adjacent bottom plates and to the inwardly directed side plates along its upper chine line, and means connecting the bow side plates of the said other corner to the adjacent bottom plates.

8. A barge as defined in claim 7 in which the inwardly directed ra-ke bilge plates are warped substantially throughout their lengths to provide plane surfaces lying along lines emanating from common points near the adjacent corners of the barge, and stiffeners secured to said plates along said lines.

BOYCE WILLIAMSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 126,204 Hatch Apr, 30, 1872 203,135 Murphy Apr. 30, 1878 254,995 McDonald Mar. 14, 1882 1,810,742 Wilson June 16, 1931 2,054,410 Dawson Sept. 15, 1936 2,076,535 Baer Apr. 13, 1937 2,384,981 Wallace Sept, 18, 1945 

